Thank you for your interest in the Discovery Preschool. We are so exciting about this school year. At this time we are at full capacity for our 3 day per week and full time spots. If you are interested in registering your child for the 2 day per week preschool spot please feel free to either apply online or at the preschool. If you have any questions or want to have your child added to our wait list please contact our director Melissa Hammond at Melissa.Hammond@wallawalla.edu

Our Mission Statement

Our mission at the Discovery Preschool is to immerse young children in hands-on learning experiences that will allow them to learn in a natural, playful, and social environment. Our goal is for children to experience the wonder of discovery and to enhance their innate love for learning so it will continue throughout their entire lives. The spiritual emphasis of our program focuses on promoting Christian values common to most religious faiths—such as honesty, kindness, love, patience, and sharing.

Our Philosophy

Our program is governed by the following beliefs:

• All children are born knowing how to learn. • All children can learn. • All children learn at different rates. • The development of a child's social, physical, mental, and spiritual growth is of paramount importance.• Children learn naturally when they are allowed to make many of their own choices, set their own pace, and be directors in their own learning process. • Play is a child's work. • Learning for young children should be structured within play and self-expression. • Teachers are facilitators of the learning process. Their role is to provide materials that encourage learning through hands-on experiences. • Parents, as the child's first teachers, are a key part of the learning process.